Stunning, Staggering, Ridiculous: the Cardinals 3-6 hitters going 1 for 17. the Cardinals have lost 7 of 8 and are a sinking ship. This team is worse than the team that missed the playoffs in 2003 by far.

It really disgusting. This complete collapse will be remembered with the 1964 Phillies and the 1969 Cubs.

I’ve been a Cardinal fan since the 1940’s, and I’ve never seen such a hapless bunch.

You know, here in Chicago, they all want to fire Baker. And they should. But he wasn’t really expected to win anyway. LaRussa was given a team that won 105 games two years ago and 100 last year. Granted, they folded in the post season. This year they didn’t wait that long.

I live in NC now, but watch most games on mlb.com. I agree that the team looks hapless–like they’re just waiting for it to all be over. BUT…where was the crowd in the stadium last night? Where is the support that STL fans used to give–no matter what? It sounded like the place was empty. It seems the fans have given up as well. Sad. Sad. Sad.

i don’t think people are being entirely fair. TLR wasn’t given a team that won 205 games over the last two years. there are several key players missing from those two teams [see: grudzielanek, sanders, walker, morris] and the players brought in to fill those holes have, admittedly, not done as well as hoped.
i’m disappointed in the attitudes of my fellow cards fans lately. last time i checked, we’re still leading the division. if we’re so bad, then we might as well just go home now and not finish the season. we play the games for a reason.

So, if I understand you correctly, the loss of Grudzelanek, et al, is the reason the Cards have swooned over the last two years? Could it be that the pitching has been lackluster. Could it be that the players we have have simply NOT performed? Could it be that our “closer” hasn’t closed? Could it be that our CF has as many K’s as hits?

Don’t tell me about injuries. Everyone has injuries. The performance has not been worth $80+ million.

And, yes, they ARE still in 1st place, but since the All Star break they are 8 games below .500. That’s not acceptable. It’s the kind of thing that leads to managers getting booted.

This isn’t a question of attitude. It’s a matter of gettng the peroformance out of professionals.

Frustrated just like everyone else, I don’t know if there is any saving grace for this years team. But here we go anyway. It’s possible we may be in the midst of our 3rd, 8 game losing streak. But I’d rather have the losing streak right before the post-season then right at the beginning of the post-season. I’m frustrated just like everyone else. I almost can’t bare to watch the games because I have the mentality that somehow we’re going to blow it. I think this is the mentality all of Cardinal nation has, and unfortunately it seems like it’s starting to creep into the team’s mentality. Sure Izzy wasn’t having the best year, but his loss hurts. But so did Edmonds, Pujols, Eckstein, Rolen and whoever else you want to add to the list at various points in the season. The team bent but never broke. Right now is no different. We are bending almost in half, but we still haven’t broken yet. I just moved back to Missouri from Atlanta a couple months ago and reading these “fair weathered” Cardinals fans postings is making me feel like I’m back in Atlanta. Now, more than ever is the time to rally around this team and make a post season push. After the season is over (as in literally over not figuritely over like so many people think it already is), we can slice and dice this team in hopes of a better 2007. Because as a fan we have the right to challenge the team, owners, and management to make it better. But this is what we’ve got right now. An I’ll be darned if I’m going to abandon this team in need. Hopefully the Cardinals pull of a miracle and play the Twins in the World Series. I hope those fair weathered fans will still be paying attention enough to their team to stand up and cheer one last time during this rough 2006. I’m out. BC

The process of letting this team go has been a year-long affair (in which fans have been getting regularly screwed). If I was at any of these recent games, I don’t think I would be too enthusiastic, either. I think most people are just numb. Cardinal fans just aren’t used to detaching themselves while still in the midst of a playoff race. But isn’t that for the best? The sooner we put this season behind us, blow up 50%-60% of the team and start anew, the sooner we can start playing baseball worth watching.

Yes, anything can happen if we make the playoffs (seems unlikely now, doesn’t it), but isn’t the team better off missing the playoffs and teaching management that we need real players, not a heap of special projects/washouts?

Yes, free agency is brutal. Yes, we’ve dealt with bad luck. But ownership needs to shoulder a significant portion of the blame and should not be rewarded with a playoff opportunity which will only serve to exacerbate their delusion that Cardinal fans will blindly support a team which has been a betrayal of the Cardinal legacy.

The process of letting this team go has been a year-long affair (in which fans have been getting regularly screwed). If I was at any of these recent games, I don’t think I would be too enthusiastic, either. I think most people are just numb. Cardinal fans just aren’t used to detaching themselves while still in the midst of a playoff race. But isn’t that for the best? The sooner we put this season behind us, blow up 50%-60% of the team and start anew, the sooner we can start playing baseball worth watching.

Yes, anything can happen if we make the playoffs (seems unlikely now, doesn’t it), but isn’t the team better off missing the playoffs and teaching management that we need real players, not a heap of special projects/washouts?

Yes, free agency is brutal. Yes, we’ve dealt with bad luck. But ownership needs to shoulder a significant portion of the blame and should not be rewarded with a playoff opportunity which will only serve to exacerbate their delusion that Cardinal fans will blindly support a team which has been a betrayal of the Cardinal legacy.

I agree that there are seems to be a negative attitude and some “fair weather” fans as of late. The Cardinals offense has been lackluster outside of Pujols. Rolen needs to get out of his slump because they are now pitching around Pujols regularly. And why not? Who would be afraid of the lineup behind him? Encarnacion, Miles, Belliard, Molina, etc?

Now with all of that said, I still believe that the Cards will straighten up and fly right. I am a lifelong fan and have seen the Cards play great and I have seen them underperform. Either way, you support your team until it is over. After the season is when the blame game can be played.

As a long time Cards fan, I will always support them; however, I truly hope they miss the playoffs this year as it is the only way for there to be real change. TLR is done, get rid of him. After a horrible slide, his comments are passive and without any emotion. After last nights game, all he can say is “What a way to get us back into the game, if this was a movie, we would have won the game, but we didn’t.” Uh, Tony, this is not a movie and you should be fired.

I think it’s important for all to realize that it’s not being a “fair weather fan” to criticize the team or its management when called for. I’ve been following this team for 60 years and have been as loyal as anyone over that span. But I am really MAD and justifiably so over their performance this year.

My comments on being a fair weather fan was a general statement, not pointed at you or anyone else in particular. Sorry if you took it as something different.

I agree with you that a fan has every right to criticize a team and especially management. I question TLR on a regular basis and now question Duncan’s ability to manage the staff even more. I would love to see some fire from the coaches similar to Leyland and others in the league. I am mad everytime I watch the bullpen come into the game, and I have come to expect more as well.

Mgmt has not had success this year getting that late season addition to help the team. Jocketty can only do so much, though, with a limited budget. We are a very top-heavy team with high salaries to Edmonds and Izzy. Hopefully, we can make some room in the payroll soon to acquire some young, healthy free-agents to compliment what the Cards have now.

That being said I still hope that they can get some fight back in them and close out this week successfully. I’m not giving up until its over!!!

There are two separate issues here. One is criticims of ownership/management/players. And that assuredly does NOT make one any less of a fan. Even the criticism I disagree with, I accept is well-intentioned.

But the separate issue is the atmosphere at the park last night. It was entirely noticeable, and shocking. However ugly it’s been to get here, this team is in position to win a division title, and would then be 11 wins from a World Series championship. It’s really amazing that there wasn’t more enthusiasm at the park for a team so close to winning a title.

you spoke about the players and the coaches and their lack of urgency, their lack of desperation, so to speak, in the face of this collapse. Now, I’m one who still believes there’s time to pull it together. After all, this is a team of streaks, and the playoffs is a whole new season. However, in light of the team’s apparent complacency, can you blame the fans for their frustrations? I’m all for reserving judgement until the season’s over, but does it not seem that the fans right now (whether being positive and hopeful, ugly and negative, or just trying to work things through in their heads) are showing more emotion than the players and the coaches? and if that’s the case, i think the frustration of the fans is perfectly justifiable. i’m pulling for this team, but a lot of fans aren’t, and maybe those fans might be feeling differently if the team itself was showing the kind of emotion it probably should be showing these last weeks.

I think it’s a fair question, but I also think that’s a little bit of a misrepresentation of what I said and what I think.

What I intended to say at least, and what I think, is not that there’s any complacency or absence of urgency. Instead, this team is ALWAYS businesslike. For better, for worse. Win today’s game. Worry about today’s game. Do not get too high or too low. I think it’s easy to mistake that as a lack of emotion.

It’s obvious the results haven’t been there lately. But in this case, I think the skipper’s take on the Houston series was right. Those guys absolutely busted their behinds all weekend. They put a TON into that series.

My worry coming out of that series, in fact was that they had put so much into it that they wouldn’t have anything left.

Anyway. Like I said, I think it’s a fair question. But I think that the way some people are seeing it isn’t really the whole story.

The Cards are Human. Mistakes are made, people have bad games. yes, we have had more than our share. But I don’t believe TLR should be fired. I also don’t believe Duncan should either. The team is playing hard, but not playing well. End of statement. They just aren’t clicking right now. They need our encouragement and support. They don’t need our critisism. Everyone is saying that Edmonds is washed up, Izzy should quit, we have no position players that are good. All of these statements are hurting the team. Everyone is so critical that they are overthinking things. Marquis said it best. He ackknowleged that he was guilty of overthinking when he should just play. I believe that the majority of the team is like that as is the coaching staff.
Just play the game.

M: my intent never was to misrepresent what you said, and it’s easy for me to pipe in from my cozy little office in NC. I also get tired of the “LaRussa is an idiot” and “Marquis *****” lines of some. Still, my point is this: a business-like approach at this point might be misconstrued by the fans as simply not caring. Of course they care. They wouldn’t be playing and battling if they didn’t. And they deserve our support. Remember a few years back when the Yanks were on a skid and they had a very well-publicized closed-door meeting? they then went on a tear and went deep into the playoffs. that was another business-like team that knew when it needed to wear its emotion on its collective sleeve. I guess fans would just like to see that spark. That’s all i’m sayin.

by the way, thanks for enduring all this; i can’t imagine trying to balance out this blog as well as you do. we appreciate you setting us straight when we need to be set straight and allowing us to vent when we need to vent.

I don’t know what anyone else thinks. But I think the Cardinals should make a serious run at Andrew Jones. I mean Jimmy had a good run here in St. Louis but over the past few years he’s been very inconsistent at the plate and often strikes out in key situations. With Jones the Cards get a guy who is younger, a great defensive center fielder, and who produces in key situations. That’s what we need. Atlanta is on the downfall and we may be able to pry him away with a few low level prospects. We clearly need help in center field and I think Jones is the answer. This is just the right time for this deal. We’ll have plenty of money this offseason to get Jones.

I think fans should consider the fact that we have had injuries,Jimmie’sconcussion,albert’s injury,david’sijuries,issy,s injuries.Tony,s made mistakes but who has’nt,if he was perfect he would,nt be here.GO CARDS.

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